Selling bugs to Soviets
Washington Post:
"In January 1982, President Ronald Reagan approved a CIA plan to sabotage the economy of the Soviet Union through covert transfers of technology that contained hidden malfunctions, including software that later triggered a huge explosion in a Siberian natural gas pipeline, according to a new memoir by a Reagan White House official.
"Thomas C. Reed, a former Air Force secretary who was serving in the National Security Council at the time, describes the episode in 'At the Abyss: An Insider's History of the Cold War,' to be published next month by Ballantine Books. Reed writes that the pipeline explosion was just one example of 'cold-eyed economic warfare' against the Soviet Union that the CIA carried out under Director William J. Casey during the final years of the Cold War.
...
" 'In order to disrupt the Soviet gas supply, its hard currency earnings from the West, and the internal Russian economy, the pipeline software that was to run the pumps, turbines, and valves was programmed to go haywire, after a decent interval, to reset pump speeds and valve settings to produce pressures far beyond those acceptable to pipeline joints and welds,' Reed writes.
" 'The result was the most monumental non-nuclear explosion and fire ever seen from space,' he recalls, adding that U.S. satellites picked up the explosion. Reed said in an interview that the blast occurred in the summer of 1982.
" 'While there were no physical casualties from the pipeline explosion, there was significant damage to the Soviet economy,' he writes. 'Its ultimate bankruptcy, not a bloody battle or nuclear exchange, is what brought the Cold War to an end. In time the Soviets came to understand that they had been stealing bogus technology, but now what were they to do? By implication, every cell of the Soviet leviathan might be infected. They had no way of knowing which equipment was sound, which was bogus. All was suspect, which was the intended endgame for the entire operation.' "
A very interesting book review. The French shared information from an informant who provided them with a list of 200 soviet operatives who were responsible for stealing Western technology. It included their shopping list, which the CIA filled with bugged software and hardware. Since they were thieves they wre hardly in a place to complain about quality.
This raises the question, can you imagine John Kerry or Jimmy Carter approving the bold plan that Reagan approved? I can't.
Washington Post:
"In January 1982, President Ronald Reagan approved a CIA plan to sabotage the economy of the Soviet Union through covert transfers of technology that contained hidden malfunctions, including software that later triggered a huge explosion in a Siberian natural gas pipeline, according to a new memoir by a Reagan White House official.
"Thomas C. Reed, a former Air Force secretary who was serving in the National Security Council at the time, describes the episode in 'At the Abyss: An Insider's History of the Cold War,' to be published next month by Ballantine Books. Reed writes that the pipeline explosion was just one example of 'cold-eyed economic warfare' against the Soviet Union that the CIA carried out under Director William J. Casey during the final years of the Cold War.
...
" 'In order to disrupt the Soviet gas supply, its hard currency earnings from the West, and the internal Russian economy, the pipeline software that was to run the pumps, turbines, and valves was programmed to go haywire, after a decent interval, to reset pump speeds and valve settings to produce pressures far beyond those acceptable to pipeline joints and welds,' Reed writes.
" 'The result was the most monumental non-nuclear explosion and fire ever seen from space,' he recalls, adding that U.S. satellites picked up the explosion. Reed said in an interview that the blast occurred in the summer of 1982.
" 'While there were no physical casualties from the pipeline explosion, there was significant damage to the Soviet economy,' he writes. 'Its ultimate bankruptcy, not a bloody battle or nuclear exchange, is what brought the Cold War to an end. In time the Soviets came to understand that they had been stealing bogus technology, but now what were they to do? By implication, every cell of the Soviet leviathan might be infected. They had no way of knowing which equipment was sound, which was bogus. All was suspect, which was the intended endgame for the entire operation.' "
A very interesting book review. The French shared information from an informant who provided them with a list of 200 soviet operatives who were responsible for stealing Western technology. It included their shopping list, which the CIA filled with bugged software and hardware. Since they were thieves they wre hardly in a place to complain about quality.
This raises the question, can you imagine John Kerry or Jimmy Carter approving the bold plan that Reagan approved? I can't.
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